DREAMer Praises Trump On DACA; Rips Schumer, Pelosi For Using Them As Political Pawns

In a refreshing and ironic twist of politics, Hilario Yanez, a DREAMer, praised President Trump on Fox News for his handling of DACA. He once praised President Barack Obama for his executive order that protected Yanez and hundreds of thousands of other illegal aliens from deportation, gave them work permits and allowed them to attend American colleges and universities. So, this is quite an about face for the guy. He also said that if he was asked to, he would serve in the military. That’s all great, but he’s been here since he was a year-old. Why hasn’t he applied for citizenship? I don’t get that at all.

“Thanks to Obama’s executive order, I saw a window of opportunity to live the American dream,” Yanez said in a letter he wrote as part of a New York Times project in which he and dozens of other illegal aliens sang the praises of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program or DACA. Yanez is now a graduate of the University of Houston, where he was a student when he contributed to the Times. Now, he believes that President Trump has shown “leadership and compassion” toward him and other “DREAMers.” “Let me begin by first thanking Donald Trump for his leadership, his compassion and also the courage to take on this issue. Here’s a guy who wants to provide a pathway to citizenship for myself and really make a difference in my life,” Yanez explained.

“Hilario Yanez, who goes by Eli, said Trump showed courage to tackle the illegal immigration issue comprehensively during his first year in office,” Fox reported. I agree and this kid is spot on, but I’m still puzzling over his lack of action that would back up his words. “Here’s a guy who wants to provide a pathway to citizenship for myself and really make a difference in my life,” said Yanez, who works as a technology analyst at Accenture Technology in Houston. True, but then again, there has been a pathway to citizenship right there in front of Yanez all along and he hasn’t taken it. Meanwhile, he’s gotten his degree and a tech job in Houston. Not to be mean, but that’s a job an actual American citizen would have loved to have landed.

Eli then pointed out that Democrat leaders such as Schumer and Pelosi have “no clear message” on immigration other than to “us[e] us as pawns,” Fox reported. Trump is proposing making DACA legal and to provide amnesty for 1.8 million illegal aliens in exchange for funding for the wall, an end to chain migration and the diversity visa lottery program. The Democrats don’t want to deal. Just for the record, I don’t support Trump negotiating on this, but it does show the Democrats to be the obstructionists that they obviously are. They are going to dither around over this and DACA will not become law and these illegal aliens will get deported. Fine by me.

Yanez evidently supports a border wall and he also said he is in favor of skilled-based immigration law, even if his mother, who brought him to the United States illegally when he was one year-old, would probably not qualify under such a system. That’s sane and he’s right on that point, so give Eli credit for that. “I think it’s time for people who want to come to the United States to focus … on skills so [they] contribute to the American economy right way,” Yanez, who was born in Mexico, told Fox. Exactly right. It’s suicidal for a country to not pick and choose who gets to become a citizen. It should be based on skills and what they bring to our country that will benefit us. That’s called exchange.

Eli said, “The Democratic leadership, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, really have no clear message,” he argued. “We have been confused, I think at the end of the day they have been using us as pawns.” Yanez also said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) should not shut down the federal government over DACA. “There is plenty of time on the table to fix this,” Yanez told Fox. “March 5 is the deadline.” Again, he is correct. Extortion doesn’t help move things forward, it causes one side or the other to dig their heels in. And there is time to fix this, the only problem is that Democrats don’t seem interested in actually negotiating and fixing DACA. They didn’t under Obama when they controlled everything and they aren’t under Trump.

In the end, Yanez suggested that lawmakers “move to the middle” to complete immigration reform and praised Trump for attempting to work with Democrats. “I thank God for being homeless, growing up without a father, living in a rough neighborhood, and most importantly for being undocumented,” Yanez wrote in the Times. “These struggles and challenges have made me the person I am today.” I’m sure they have, just as everyone else’s struggles have made them who they are. But you should not thank God for being undocumented, which is a condition that you are responsible for and could rectify. “All I need is a chance,” he concluded. And you are being given one and have had one for many years. I like this kid, but he is still breaking the law. Get legal or get out. No one is above the rule of law.